I wasn’t surprised to read in the museum about how Jews were banned from libraries in Munich in the 1930s as their rights were so comprehensively stripped away from them, but I’m not sure that I’ve actually seen a sign being so clear that they were banned from accessing education in this way. The particular location referenced here was the Deutsches Museum library which is the largest of its type in the country and by 1932, it was known internationally for how it led the way in promoting reading, learning and understanding.
The library doesn’t directly mention on its website about this ban on Jews being able to access the books, but they do note:
“During the Nazi regime, the Deutsches Museum could only maintain its independence by making numerous concessions: Nazi functionaries were elected to the museum’s committees, a “Hall for Motor Vehicles” sponsored by Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler opened in 1938, but above all the library building was used for several propaganda exhibitions, including the inflammatory show “The Eternal Jew”.”
There are some regimes around the world which still attack libraries, hoping that denying education to those they seek to oppress will someone strengthen their own case and position. For anyone who loved books, learning and education it must have been traumatic to see that denied to them.